Posted on January 11, 2008 in Latest News
Smoking which is the leading cause of various health issues also causes depression. Whilst people believe that depression leads to smoking, it’s the other way round. Smoking causes depression. Find out more.
It’s a general notion that depressed people smoke to feel better and gradually cope up. On the contrary, smokers gradually develop depression, down the line. Studies which confirm that smoking causes depression are delineated below.
Studies Establishing How Smoking Causes Depression
A new study reveals that smoking actually causes depression. The study surveyed 3,000 people in the St. Louis area. The results showed that while smokers had a 6.6 per cent risk of developing lifetime frequency of major depression; it was 2.9 per cent for non-smokers.
The Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) survey revealed that about 70% of male habitual smokers and 80% of female habitual smokers had major depression. The study also established that 30% of smokers show some symptoms of depression.
The Henry Ford Health System study confirmed that daily smokers (a person who smokes daily for one or more months) are twice at more risk of developing major depression than occasional smokers.
Some neurobiologic evidences also confirm the fact that tobacco smoke plays a crucial role in causing depression.
Why Smoking Causes Depression?
Smoking causes depression because of the withdrawal from a physically and psychologically addictive substance, called nicotine.
Nicotine which acts as a receptor for the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, indirectly stimulates the release of another neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the brain’s reward or motivation center. Eventually the brain becomes so much adapted to the presence of the drug that it no longer functions normally without it. After 20-30 minutes of smoking the last cigarette, nicotine withdrawal begins. This leads to anxiety, which is very closely related to depression.
Smoking as well as quitting smoking, both cause depression. Depression occurs when the smoker tries to abstain himself from smoking.
Ways To Quit Smoking
The smoker, though, undergoes depression after giving up smoking, health experts advise to quit it completely. They advise to replace nicotine with nasal spray, or chewing gum which can is quite effective in giving up smoking.
The antidepressant, bupropion (Wellbutrin), marketed under the name Zyban, is very beneficial for smokers to quit smoking.
Cognitive and behavioural therapies also help smokers to quit smoking. These therapies also treat depression.
In behaviour therapy the stimulus-response associations that lead to smoking are altered. Smokers are rewarded for not smoking. Moreover, the patients are provided help to solve problems and manage stress.
Cognitive therapy helps the depressed heavy smokers to quit smoking. It teaches patients to cope with the thoughts that lead to loss of control after a temporary relapse. It also imparts training on how to avoid catastrophic discouragement after a temporary relapse.
Depression, which is caused by smoking, can be effectively treated by giving it up. So quit smoking and lead a blissful life.
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April 27th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
There are a good many things in this life that are not good for you. Why don’t all of the people who are so worried about what other do to their own bodies mind their own business. You notice that no big fuss is made over alcohol, could it be because so many congressmen and other middle class whites drink? Alcohol is the cause for more beatings of women and children, deaths of our jock teenage boys. rape, fights in bars and deaths on the highway of innocent people for hundreds of years. Give us all a break, either bring back prohibition or shut the hell up and stop trying to control people. No ones really cares what you think. Look how well the war on drugs is going, prohibit smoking all together and we will start buying on the black market, which is what happens to anything you try to control over other peoples will. So shut the==== up. And don’t bother sending some bs, answer back. cause I could care less. Hypocrites
June 19th, 2008 at 10:17 am
This is a major change from what the U.S. Navy teaches in it’s smoking cessation courses. I just began mine and they suggest that people suffering from depression smoke unknowlingly treating their undiagnosed depression. It’ll be interesting to bring this up in class next week. I’ve been trying to quit for years, and this makes more sense to me than anything else I’ve read